The Words I Will Never Say
by tomoyoddj
Summary: How would you live the last days of your life?


Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

The Words I Will Never Say

Chapter 1

The day was perfect.

It was beautiful.

The sun was shining up in the sky, accompanied by huge, white clouds. Birds were literally chirping as throngs of people walked down the pebbled walk of the central park of the ever-peaceful but ever-busy town of Tomoeda. The said town was small. So small, that one would need a magnifying glass to make it out of the map of Japan. It was so small, that everyone there knew each other. Each other's names, family background, occupation...almost all the facts about each and every person, all the townspeople knew.

Almost all the facts about each other, except for one fact about a certain Hiiragizawa Eriol.

All the people living in Tomoeda loved him. Whether in a romantic way, in a friendly way or in a familial way. He was, what one would say, a perfect gentleman. He had dashing good-looks, a clean conscience and a big heart. He was responsible, and gossip never came his way. Everyone respected him. And he respected everyone back.

He also owned the one and only photo shop in Tomoeda. Every day, people of all ages would come to his store, eager to have their pictures taken or developed. Eriol loved his job, as he felt that in a way, he was becoming close to his fellow citizens, in an indirect way. He'd look at their photos, and he feels as if he was entering, along with them, a new chapter in their lives. But of course, he has never shared to anyone else what he had seen in the photos. If he did, he'd be invading the privacy of his customers. And their privacy was something he respected very much, as long as his customers will never invade HIS privacy.

And as long as they never find out about his secret

It was a secret that only he, his father and his sister knew about.

No one else in town, even his friends, knew about it.

Up until a year ago, Eriol had been a normal person. He was living a very normal life. But then, he started feeling pain. Very intense pain all over his body. When they had seeked medical advice, the doctors weren't able to help. He had a very unusual and very rare disease; a disease that the doctors only knew of the minute Eriol entered their clinic. So he, his father and his sister went to different cities. They visited different hospitals, each time hoping that someone would be able to give them an idea on what could be the illness that Eriol had. During their travels, Eriol had fallen into a coma. The coma lasted for almost a month. When Eriol woke up, wires were connected to different parts of his body and doctors were all over him. He left the hospital two months later with only one piece of advice and a notice that he had been dreading for a long time from the doctors.

_Live your life to the fullest._

_Your days are counted._

The doctors have not yet found out about what could be Eriol's illness. But at least they had been keeping Eriol and his family updated about their research. Every now and then, Eriol would feel the very intense pain. Sometimes, the pain would become so strong, that Eriol would just fall down and his body would start to shake hard, and then he would lose his consciousness after. Eriol was actually surprised that he was still alive. Each morning he would wake up, and he would just smile and start to pray to Kami-sama.

_Thank you for giving me another day._

And he would start the day, the way he started each day a little over a year ago. But unlike before, he cherished each day, lived it to the fullest.

As if it was his last.

"Wow! This place is soooo beautiful!" Daidouji Tomoyo exclaimed to her friend Kinomoto Sakura on her cellphone. She was eyeing the two-storey, yet simple house that her friend had let her stay in for the summer. It was Tomoyo's first time in the small town called Tomoeda, and she already loved it, even if she had only been breathing in its clean atmosphere for only a few minutes.

"I told you so!" Sakura proclaimed smugly. "Oh! And I've already had Chihiko-san fix the furniture. She says it looks wonderful!" She continued.

"I can't wait to come in!" Tomoyo replied. Just then, Chihiko, the Kinomoto family's maid and housekeeper walked out of the house to welcome Tomoyo.

"Sakura-chan! I'd better go. Chihiko-san is here." Tomoyo said as she smiled at the older woman warmly.

"Oh. Okay. Greet her for me!"

"Of course! Bye!"

"Bye! Take care!"

Tomoyo closed her cellphone and faced the housekeeper.

"Ohayou!" Tomoyo greeted as she bowed.

The older woman did the same.

"You are obviously Daidouji Tomoyo-sama. Sakura-sama has told me a lot about you." Chihiko said warmly.

"Heh? Is that so?" The younger girl replied politely.

"Oh. What am I doing? Come in, come in." Chihiko said as she led the way towards the front door.

Both women entered the rustic house. The interior of the house was one of country style but Tomoyo immediately knew that the place was the perfect getaway from the busy world she lives in the city. The two ladies chatted as the older lady showed Tomoyo around the house. They had also gotten Tomoyo's baggage from her car.

"Also, Tomoyo-sama," Chihiko started.

"Hmm?" Tomoyo said as she started unpacking her clothes and other necessities.

"It would be better of you don't use your car here in Tomoeda. You won't be able appreciate the real beauty of the town if you would stay inside an air conditioned vehicle while you go around town."

Tomoyo eyed the housekeeper, and then smiled. "Sure. What's the use of going away from the city if I'll bring memories of the city with me all the time?"

The older lady smiled. "I'll be staying in the room down the hallway if you need anything."

"Sure. I'll keep that in mind."

Chihiko left, and Tomoyo continued unpacking her things.

Tomoyo decided to take a walk to kill time until dinner. She had planned on starting going around town the next day, but decided to change her plans. She hadn't expected this town to be very beautiful and peaceful, much unlike the city, where the environment was so disturbing and violent.

Even though she was supposed to be on vacation, Tomoyo was still doing one part of her job. She was a writer for Woman magazine, which focuses mostly on fashion, cuisine and lifestyle for women. She was allowed to write about everything under the sun, although pictures and research were asked for by their boss. And during that time, Tomoyo was planning on writing something about suburban fashion for women. Tomoeda women dress differently from city women. Their clothes were more conservative and simple. And their style suited Tomoyo's taste. And so, she got out her camera and started looking around for any style that might suit her boss's taste.

She came across one, and another one, and another one. She was able to take so many pictures, that she didn't realize the film of her camera was all used up.

"GREAT!" Tomoyo exclaimed to herself. She had just seen one woman who was wearing a really adorable floral skirt. Tomoyo sighed. Time to look for a photo shop and a new roll of film.

After asking a few people for directions, she finally found the store she was looking for.

And it was closing up.

"Wait!" Tomoyo shouted at the tope of her lungs as she ran towards the store.

The man looked at her in an odd way, but he stopped putting the chain around the security gate of the shop.

"I…need…some…film…." Tomoyo said breathlessly. _When was the last time she ran that fast anyway?_

The man, Hiiragizawa Eriol, stopped looking at her oddly, smiled and said:

"Welcome."

Tsuzuku

11:29 PM 12 19 04


End file.
